Posture as a reference frame: a brain neural network model

A plausible neural network simulation of the brain structures involved in a goal-directed reaching movement should take two main factors into account. The first deals with the muscular activities controlling the movement itself. The second mainly relates to stabilizing the reference frame of the movement and serves to trigger the appropriate anticipatory postural commands. The latter involves control over muscle synergies. The authors checked the validity of the concepts of control augmentation and stabilization augmentation. In aeronautics, each concept is implemented in a specialized computer system. In the brain, the cerebellum (for movement coordination) and the basal ganglia (for securing the postural stabilization of given segments during each elementary movement) would play a similar role. A model is proposed to show how these two structures may intervene in helping the cerebrum during a sequence of elementary movements which includes the location of a target in relation to both the external world and the body scheme